Ski binding



March 25, 1952 K J, LEHMKUHL 2,590,424v

SKI BINDING I Filed Aug. 51,'1948 Patented Mar. 25, 1952 UNITED STATESYPATENT OFFICE SKI BINDING.

Joakim Lehmkuhl, Watertown, Conn.

ApplicaltionAug'ust 31, 1948, Serial No. 47,070 In Norway .uly 18, 1947A number of different types ofski bindings are known in which thisdesideratum has been considered, and in which there is provided for whathas popularly been termed a .diagonal pull on the heel, but in practicethese bindings allow too much movement of the heel in the verticaldirection, for which reason they are not very suitable. At the same timethese known bindings comprise far too many complicated mechanisms, whichin reality are not necessary for obtaining the result aimed at.

The object of this invention is to solve the problem in the simplestpossible way, which is obtained by providing the binding with a deviceadapted to anchor the rear part of the boot to the ski, when desired.Such a device may be constructed in different ways and mayv be used incombination with front-bindings of most different embodiments; afront-binding meaning that part of the binding which is used forattaching or anchoring the toe or front part of the boot to the ski.

The device for anchoring the rear part of the boot to the ski may, inaccordance with the invention be used in connection with such bindingswhere a strap is passed around the boot heel as `well as in connectionwith bindings where. the

front part of the bootis locked or anchoredto the ski without use of -arear strap. The Aanchoring device of the invention may be so `attachedto the ski that when the boot Vis placed on the ski said device will besituated inthe open space just in front of the-heel, and may comprise acatching member adapted-to engage a suitable holding means provided, sayin the heelv of the boot. l

, The anchoring means may be adapted to operate automatically when theboot is inserted into the toe iron of the binding, being secured theretoby being slid forward, such movement of the boot in forward directionengaging holding means in the boot sole or heel. The yanchoring meansfor the rear part of the boot may, however, also take another form, forexample that of a reversible locking mechanism which, without displacement of the boot in relation to the ski, may be caused to engage ordisengage a suitable holding means provided in the boot sole or heel.

In a simple embodiment of the invention an axially extending recess isprovided in the heel,

said recess being spanned on its under side by a transverse bridgingmember, the locking device consisting of a resilient strap or arm thatis secured to the ski and so formed and arranged that it will penetrateinto said recess in theboot heel, when the boot is positioned in thebinding.

Said strap may be displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the ski,and the strap or arm may be arranged to be moved into engagement .withthe bridging means of the heel, or below said means without engaging'thesame opera tively, as desired.

In general it may be said, that the object of the invention i's toprovide for a substantially rigid anchoring of the boot heel to the ski,but under circumstances it may be desirable to have an arrangement of acertain small resiliency, so

' that the boot heel may be raised a few millimeters above the ski, andfor this purpose the locking or anchoring means may, according to afurther feature of the invention, be made somewhat resilient.

Obviously this may be achieved by diierent embodiments. Thus the toeiron may be extended backwards in the form of a rather rigid arm orstrap adapted to engage a holding means at the under side of the bootand near the rear end thereof.

Or a rearwardly extending member may be arranged to be displaced axiallyby a suitable actuating device so that said member, according to desire,is brought into engagement with suitable means at the under side of theboot, for example'in the heel thereof.

Such member may for example be an arm or a strap of spring steel andextend to the front side of the binding, below the toe iron, being atthe front side of the binding attached to a suitable tightener device oftype known per se, whereby anchoring of the rear part of the boot to theski may be caused either by moving the arm or strap forward-the arm orstrap having a hook engaging the boot-or by displacing the strap or armrearwardly, the strap or arm then being engaged with the boot by beingintroduced into a slot or the like provided at the lower side of thesole, say in the under side of the heel.

The rst mentioned one of these two arrangements, viz. that where thestrap or arm is engaged to the boot by being moved forwardly, may easilybe combined with means for anchoring the front end of the boot to theski. Thus the strap may be provided with a suitable lug where the toeiron passes it, which lug passes through a slot in the toe iron and isadapted to be received in a cut-out provided in the lower side of thesole near the front end thereof.

By pulling the strap or arm forward the front end of the boot sole isdrawn into the toe iron simultaneously as the rear, hook-like part ofthe arm or strap engages the heel operatively.

It is also possible to provide separate means for anchoring of the frontend and for anchoring the rear end of the boot to the ski. r'ihis may bemade by providing two tightening devices in front of the toe irons, oneof which tighteners isused for pulling the front end of the boot soleinto the toe iron, say by means of a lug as mentioned above, or by meansof a hook that is inserted into a loop provided in the snout of the bootsole, Whereas the arm or strap serving to anchor the rear part of thesole to the ski is attached to the other tightener, in such manner thatanchoring takes place when the arm or strap is pushed backwards. Thisarrangement allows for` an easy adjustment of the binding so that theboot may be anchored to the ski only at its front end, or both at itsfront end and at its rear end.

When a ski binding according to the invention is to be used forpromenading the anchoring means for the rear part of the sole ismaintained out of engagement with the sole. Where special arrangementsare not provided for release of the rear anchoringA this may be eiected.by the person using the binding holding the heel somewhat raised at themoment when the front end of the boot is anchored in the binding.

In another type the same effect is obtained simply by placing theanchoring member for the rear part of the bind in out or free position.

Preferably the under side of the boot, say its heel, is provided with agroove or the like adapted to receive said arm or strap when the latteris in out or free position.

When the binding is to be used for competition sport, such as slalom,steep-hill-rurming, and the like, the heel of the boot is anchored tothe ski by pulling the iront end of the boot into the toe iron or byreleasing the anchoring member, as described above.

In order that the invention may be easily interpreted and that it willbe understood which different embodiments the same may take, theinvention will below be described with reference to the drawingswhichdisclose several embodil ments by way of example. Hereby are alsodisclosed special constructive features covered by the invention.

Fig. 1 is a plan view or" an embodiment oi a ski binding in accordancewith the invention, and

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof, a boot being shown in position in thebinding.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of an other embodiment of the invention and Fig. 4is a side view thereof, partly in section, the boot being in position inthe binding with the boot heel released from the binding, whereas Fig. 5is a view similar to Fig. i but the boot heel is shown anchored tobinding and thus also to the ski.

On Figs. l and 2 numeral i designates a ski on which is mounted a toeiron 2 having side uprights 3, d, and having lugs e, S, respectively,thereon for cooperation with the boot sole. Below the toe iron 2 isslidably mounted a steel band 1 carrying a lug B which may be movedaxially within'a slot 9 in the toe iron 2. The steel band 'I is attachedto a tightening mechanism IQ, by means rof which the band may be drawnforward, in the longitudinal direction of incastri, with great power.

In the boot sole II is provided a cut-out I2 adapted to receive the lug8; thus when the lug has been positioned in said cut-out I2 it ispossible, by means of the tightening device IQ, to pull the boot soleforward so that the sole is held rigidly in position in the toe ironagainst the uprights 3, 4 thereoi` and below the lugs 5, 6.

According to the invention the toe iron 2 is provided with a rearwardextending arm or strap I3, which may be integral with the toe iron ormay be a special member secured thereto. This arm or strap I3 consistsof a material of a thickness which will not become bent by such stressesas are usual in the ski sport, but at the same time is somewhatresilient, being made from springsteel. As illustrated in Fig. 2 thestrap I3 may be introduced into a slot I4 provided in the boot heel,whereby said heel is held down against the surface of the ski.

The heel II of the boot intended for use with this binding is providedwith a fiat tubular insert I4 having a slot I4', the insert beingpositioned between the sole and the heel of the boot. The rear end I5 ofthe strap I3, during certain skiing maneuvers may be received in theslot Iii. The forward end of the tubular insert, i. e., the end facingthe strap I3, is slightly ared to facilitate entry of the strap into theslot I4.

At times it is not desired to so anchor the boot heel to the ski. Theboot is then placed in the binding in such manner that the rearmost partI5 of the arm is placed below the heel, in a groove I6 provided therein.The heel is thus divided by the bottom of the tubular member into anupper and lower slot and recess I4 and i6, respectively, the bottom ofthe tubular member thus becoming a bridging member spanning thesespaces.

On Figs. 3, 4 and 5 numeral 2i designates a siii on which is mounted atoe iron 22 having side uprights 23, 24 and lugs 25, 26 for cooperationwith a boot sole. Below the toe iron 22 is slidably mounted a strap orarm band 21 carrying a lug 28 which may be moved axially within a slot25 in thel toe iron 22. The strap or arm 21 is attachedl to a tighteningmechanism 30, by means of which the strap may be drawn forward, in thelongitudinal direction of the ski, with great power.

In the boot sole 3l is provided a cut-out 32 adapted to receive the lug28; thus when the lug has been positioned said cut-out 32 it ispossible, by means of the tightening device B, to pull the boot soleforward so that the sole is held rigidly in position in the toe ironagainst glsie 1iiprights 23, 24 thereof and below the lugs According tothe invention the strap or arm 21 is extended in rearward direction,towards the boot heel. This arm or strap 21 consists of a material of athickness which will not become bent by such stresses as are usual inthe ski sport, but at the same time it is somewhat resilient, being madefrom spring steel. The strap or arm 21 may, as shown, be introduced intoa slot 34 in. the heel 35. Across said slot 3ft is placed a xed stay 36,and the arm 21 is bent back' on itself to form a hook member 31 adaptedto engage the stay 36. l

The arm or strap 21 is also connected to the ski by means of a plate 38,below which the arm is slidably guided, so that the arm only withliiculty can swing somewhat in vertical direc'- ion.

A.l ski binding according to this embodiment of the invention is used asfollows:

If it is desired to use the same in such manner that the heel of theboot may be freely raised from the surface of the ski the toe portion ofthe boot is introduced into the toe iron and at the same time the heelis maintained in such raised position that the hook 31 is at a lowerlevel than the cross stay 36 in the heel. By means of the tighteningdevice 30 the arm or strap 21 then is pulled forward whereby the lug 23causes the sole to be secured in the toe iron 22, as illustrated on Fig,4.

The end of arm 21 and the hook 31 then are received in the cut-out 34 inthe heel, and have no influence upon the heel movements. If it isdesired to anchor the boot heel to the ski the tightening device 30 ismoved to open position, that is anticlockwise on Figs. 3-5, whereby thelug 28 and the hook 31 are moved backwards. Pressing now the heel downagainst the ski and returning the device 30 clockwise, the hook 31engages over the stay 36 and the boot heel becomes anchored, as shown onFig. 5.

The plate 38 allows a limited swinging movement of the boot heelvertically. This swinging may be adjusted by placing the plate 38 atdifferent locations longitudinally of the ski, according to the usersexperience and desire.

I claim:

1. A ski binding for ski shoes of the type having a recess in the soleand a slot in the heel thereof, said binding comprising a plate adaptedto be flxedly secured to a ski, said plate having sole edge grippinglugs at the forward end thereof for engaging the sole of a ski shoe, aheel engaging strap at the other end of said plate, a slot in said plateintermediate said gripping and engaging means, an upstanding lugslidable in said slot to engage the recess in the sole of the shoe, andmeans for drawing said lug forward to lock the shoe and lug in anadvanced position to clamp said sole between said edge gripping lugs,said strap simultaneously entering the slot in said heel if the heel isin a lowered position, or passing below said slot if the heel is in araised position with respect to the ski.

2. A ski binding for ski shoes of the type having a recess in the solethereof and a slot in the heel thereof with a tubular socket in the heelspanning the slot, said binding comprising a plate adapted to be xed tothe ski, said plate having a strap extending rearwardly therefrom, saidstrap being spaced from theski at its rear end; said plate having solegripping lugs at each side and a substantially centrally positionedslot; a sole engaging lug slidable in said slot, said lug extending intothe sole recess when a ski shoe is placed in the binding; means fordrawing said Alug and shoe forward into the binding; the rear end ofsaid strap being adapted to extend into the socket member in said heelto lock the same with respect to the plate for slalom, jumping, runningor the like if the heel is ina lowered position with respect to the ski,or adapted to extend under said socket member and into said recess belowsaid socket to allow vertical movement of the heel for promenading orthe like if the shoe is in a raised position with respect to the` ski. I

JOAKIM LEHMKUHL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 65,092 Norway July 27, 1942 118,480Switzerland Jan. 3, 1927 239,970 Switzerland Mar, 1, 1946 350,596 ItalyJuly 17, 1987

